Blue Sky on Mars

Last updated
Blue Sky on Mars
Msbsom.jpg
Studio album by
Matthew Sweet
ReleasedMarch 25, 1997
RecordedOctober 1996
Studio
  • Southern Tracks (Atlanta, Georgia)
  • Sunset Sound (Hollywood, California)
Genre Alternative rock
Length36:29
Label Zoo Entertainment
Producer Brendan O'Brien, Matthew Sweet
Matthew Sweet chronology
100% Fun
(1995)		Blue Sky on Mars
(1997)		 In Reverse
(1999)
Singles from Blue Sky on Mars
  1. "Where You Get Love"
    Released: 1997
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
Allmusic Star full.svgStar full.svgStar half.svgStar empty.svgStar empty.svg [1]
Chicago Tribune Star full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svgStar empty.svg [2]
Christgau's Consumer Guide Rating-Christgau-neither.png [3]
Entertainment Weekly B [4]
Los Angeles Times Star full.svgStar full.svgStar half.svgStar empty.svg [5]
Rolling Stone Star full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svgStar empty.svgStar empty.svg [6]
The Rolling Stone Album Guide Star full.svgStar full.svgStar half.svgStar empty.svgStar empty.svg [7]

Blue Sky on Mars is the sixth album by alternative rock musician Matthew Sweet. It was released on Zoo Entertainment in 1997.

Contents

Cover

The cover of the album features an image by Viking 1, the first spacecraft to land on Mars; the album's liner notes include additional imagery of the planet's landscape as taken by the spacecraft on July 20, 1976. The text on the cover was done by fantastic artist Roger Dean, best known for his work on album covers for bands such as Yes. [8] The album's title comes from the tour in the film Total Recall .

Release

The album was met with little commercial success, but favorable reviews. Critic Jim Farber of Entertainment Weekly gave the album a "B", writing that it "matched his usual sugary melodies to denser production, hinting at everything from the Beach Boys to '80s new wave", and adding that "[Sweet's] power pop still has the knack". [4] The A.V. Club wrote that the album contained "nice, sugary three-minute pop singles that instantly lodge themselves in your cranium", adding that it is "a slight but worthy addition to his terrific catalog". [9]

Details

The song "Hollow" was featured in the film The Game , and "Come to California" was featured in the film Nancy Drew .

Track listing

All songs written by Matthew Sweet except "Back To You" written by Ric Menck and Matthew Sweet.

  1. "Come to California" - 3:31
  2. "Back to You" - 3:10
  3. "Where You Get Love" - 3:35
  4. "Hollow" - 4:03
  5. "Behind the Smile" - 2:23
  6. "Until You Break" - 4:50
  7. "Over It" - 1:37
  8. "Heaven and Earth" - 2:32
  9. "All Over My Head" - 3:04
  10. "Into Your Drug" - 2:39
  11. "Make Believe" - 1:50
  12. "Missing Time" - 3:15
Japanese bonus tracks
  2. "If It's Happening You'll Know" - 3:10
  3. "Close Inside" - 4:32
  4. "Final Hour" - 3:37

Personnel

Production

Related Research Articles

<i>The Notorious Byrd Brothers</i> 1968 studio album by the Byrds

The Notorious Byrd Brothers is the fifth album by the American rock band the Byrds, and was released in January 1968, on Columbia Records. The album represents the pinnacle of the Byrds' late-'60s musical experimentation, with the band blending together elements of psychedelia, folk rock, country, electronic music, baroque pop, and jazz. With producer Gary Usher, they made extensive use of a number of studio effects and production techniques, including phasing, flanging, and spatial panning. The Byrds also introduced the sound of the pedal steel guitar and the Moog modular synthesizer into their music, making it one of the first LP releases on which the Moog appears.

<i>Girlfriend</i> (album) 1991 studio album by Matthew Sweet

Girlfriend is the third studio album by American alternative rock musician Matthew Sweet. It was released on Zoo Entertainment in 1991.

<i>Under the Covers, Vol. 1</i> 2006 studio album by Matthew Sweet and Susanna Hoffs

Under the Covers, Vol. 1 is the first collaboration between alternative rock artist Matthew Sweet and Bangles singer/guitarist Susanna Hoffs. Released by Shout! Factory in 2006, the album contains 15 cover versions of songs from the 1960s and 1970s. The album was a result of their mutual love for songwriting from the 1960s. Matthew Sweet and Susanna Hoffs decided to record an album together in dedication of that era consisting of only cover versions.

<i>The Thorns</i> (album) 2003 album by The Thorns

The Thorns is the only studio album by rock supergroup The Thorns. Released by Aware Records in 2003, it was produced by Brendan O'Brien following songwriting sessions by the three members before they officially became a band.

<i>Altered Beast</i> (album) 1993 studio album by Matthew Sweet

Altered Beast is the fourth album by alternative rock musician Matthew Sweet. It was released on Zoo Entertainment in 1993.

<i>Earth</i> (Matthew Sweet album) 1989 studio album by Matthew Sweet

Earth is the second album by alternative rock musician Matthew Sweet. It was released on A&M Records in 1989.

<i>100% Fun</i> 1995 studio album by Matthew Sweet

100% Fun is the fifth album by alternative rock musician Matthew Sweet. It was released on Zoo Entertainment in 1995.

<i>In Reverse</i> 1999 studio album by Matthew Sweet

In Reverse is the seventh album by alternative rock musician Matthew Sweet. It was released on Volcano Entertainment in 1999.

<i>Time Capsule: The Best of Matthew Sweet 90/00</i> 2000 compilation album by Matthew Sweet

Time Capsule: The Best of Matthew Sweet 90/00 is a compilation album by alternative rock musician Matthew Sweet. It was released on Volcano Entertainment in 2000. It contains two new songs: "Ready" and "So Far".

<i>Kimi Ga Suki</i> 2003 studio album by Matthew Sweet

Kimi Ga Suki * Raifu is an album by alternative rock musician Matthew Sweet. It was released on Cutting Edge in 2003.

<i>Living Things</i> (Matthew Sweet album) 2004 studio album by Matthew Sweet

Living Things is the ninth studio album by alternative rock musician Matthew Sweet. It was released on RCAM Records in 2004.

Velvet Crush is an American power pop band from Providence, Rhode Island, United States, that achieved prominence in indie-rock circles in the early- and mid-1990s. The band broke up in 1996 but re-formed in 1998 and have continued to record, releasing their most recent album in 2004. Vocalist/bassist Paul Chastain and drummer Ric Menck are the band's core members, having previously worked together as Choo Choo Train, Bag-O-Shells, and The Springfields, and they share singing and songwriting duties. Guitarist Jeffrey Underhill played on the band's first three albums, In the Presence of Greatness, Teenage Symphonies to God, and Heavy Changes. In the Presence of Greatness was produced by Matthew Sweet, while the second and third albums were produced by Mitch Easter.

<i>Sunshine Lies</i> 2008 studio album by Matthew Sweet

Sunshine Lies is the tenth studio album by the alternative rock musician Matthew Sweet. It was released by Shout! Factory in 2008.

<i>The Pillowcase</i> 2006 EP by Matthew Sweet and Susanna Hoffs

The Pillowcase is a collaboration EP between alternative rock artist Matthew Sweet and Bangles singer Susanna Hoffs. Released by Shout! Factory in 2006 in collaboration with Parasol Records as a double-7" vinyl, it contains 4 cover versions of favorite songs from the 1960s. It was designed as a companion piece to Sweet and Hoffs' album, Under the Covers, Vol. 1. Two of the tracks on the EP appear on that album, while the other two tracks were originally exclusive to the EP, but were later released in the compilation box set Completely Under the Covers.

<i>Under the Covers, Vol. 2</i> 2009 studio album by Matthew Sweet and Susanna Hoffs

Under the Covers, Vol. 2 is the second collaboration between alternative rock artist Matthew Sweet and Bangles singer/guitarist Susanna Hoffs. Released by Shout! Factory on July 21, 2009, it contains 16 cover versions of songs from the 1970s.

<i>Modern Art</i> (Matthew Sweet album) 2011 studio album by Matthew Sweet

Modern Art is the eleventh studio album by alternative rock musician Matthew Sweet. It was released on Missing Piece Records in 2011.

<i>Under the Covers, Vol. 3</i> 2013 studio album by Matthew Sweet and Susanna Hoffs

Under the Covers, Vol. 3 is the third and final collaboration between alternative rock artist Matthew Sweet and Bangles singer/guitarist Susanna Hoffs. Released by Shout! Factory on November 12, 2013, it contains 14 cover versions of songs from the 1980s.

<i>Tomorrow Forever</i> 2017 studio album by Matthew Sweet

Tomorrow Forever is the twelfth album by alternative rock musician Matthew Sweet, funded wholly by his fans through the crowdfunding platform Kickstarter. It was released on June 16, 2017, as a digital download, CD, and a 2-LP vinyl set.

<i>Catspaw</i> (album) 2021 studio album by Matthew Sweet

Catspaw is the fifteenth studio album by American singer-songwriter Matthew Sweet. It was released on January 15, 2021, through Omnivore Recordings.

<i>Wicked System of Things</i> 2018 studio album by Matthew Sweet

Wicked System of Things is a 2018 studio album by American singer-songwriter Matthew Sweet.

References

  1. ↑ Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. "Blue Sky on Mars - Matthew Sweet". AllMusic . Retrieved 2017-09-30.
  2. ↑ Kot, Greg (1997-03-28). "Matthew Sweet Blue Sky on Mars (Zoo)". Chicago Tribune . Archived from the original on January 5, 2016. Retrieved 2017-12-21.
  3. ↑ Christgau, Robert. "CG: matthew sweet". Robertchristgau.com. Retrieved 2017-09-30.
  4. 1 2 Farber, Jim (1997-03-28). "Blue Sky on Mars". Entertainment Weekly .
  5. ↑ Hochman, Steve (1997-04-27). "In Brief". Los Angeles Times . ISSN   0458-3035 . Retrieved 2017-12-21.
  6. ↑ Foege, Alec (1997-03-12). "Matthew Sweet: Blue Sky On Mars". Rolling Stone . Archived from the original on 2007-10-02.
  7. ↑ Brackett, Nathan; Hoard, Christian David, eds. (2004). "Matthew Sweet". The New Rolling Stone Album Guide . Simon and Schuster. p.  798. ISBN   9780743201698.
  8. ↑ Discogs entry for Blue Sky on Mars Retrieved September 27, 2011
  9. ↑ "Matthew Sweet: Blue Sky on Mars". The A.V. Club . Archived from the original on January 17, 2013.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.